Computing devices, software, and peripheries often have an associated “lifespan” due to continuous innovations in these respective technologies. Moore's law describes the rapid innovation in the computer hardware industry that has enabled placement of approximately twice the number of transistors on an integrated circuit every two years. Besides just improvements in integrated circuits, there have also been major advances in memory capacity, processing speed, and many other metrics that follow Moore's law. Because of this rapid development of hardware, many other related items, such as software and standards (e.g., IEEE, etc.) continue to evolve at an equivalent pace.
One recent update to a standard that may impact future development of graphics processing units (GPU) is the IEEE 754 standard for Floating-Point Arithmetic. The IEEE 754 standard governs arithmetic for hardware and many computer languages, which are used to develop software to run on the IEEE 754 compliant hardware. The hardware may be integrated in many different types of computing devices such as gaming consoles, personal computers, mobile telephones, and so forth. The software may include video games, productivity applications, operating systems, etc. In 2008, the IEEE 754 was revised, likely impacting compatibility of new GPUs with legacy software.
For example, software that was developed for a processor having a first operating policy (hardware circuitry logic) may not be compatible with a new computing device that employs a newer operating policy that reflects changes due to the changes in the IEEE 754 standards. One option to make legacy software compatible with new GPUs is to modify the software by rewriting portions of the software code to conform to the new IEEE 754 standards. However, some legacy software is only available in binary code while other software may require many time consuming modifications to make the software compatible with the IEEE 754 standards. Thus, modifying the software code may be tedious, time consuming, and expensive.